Composite building construction unit and supporting member



G. F. KOTRBATY Oct. 5, 1937.

COMPOSITE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION UNIT AND SUPPORTING MEMBER Filed Oct. 1, 19 35 Fig.1.

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O 0 b Q00 :3. 0 0 0 0 INVENTOR GUY F. KOTRBATY ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 5, 1937 UNITEE fiATE CQMPQSJI'IE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION UNllT AND SUPPORTING MEMBER Guy F. Kotrbaty, New York, N. Y., assignor to Ferrocon Corporation, Bryn Mawr, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application October 1,

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in building construction systems and elements therefor.

This application is a continuation in part of an application Serial No. 758,345, filed December 5 20, 1934, for Structural building elements, etc.

The improvements of the present invention relate more in detail to modified structural supporting and keying members and self-supporting structural wall members of the type generally described in my Patent No. 1,968,845 of July 31, 1934, and Patent No. 1,965,6ii1 of July 10, 1934, and cognate applications and patents, application Serial No. 698,433; Patent No. 1,987,115 of January 8, 1935; Patent No. 1,995,477 of March 26, 1935; Patent No. 1,993,791 of March 12, 1935, and application Serial No. 29,820.

The invention further includes vertical joint and composite stud or stanchion constructions and coacting parts thereof. The invention also 20 includes special side wall joints and wall angles as well as composite stud or stanchion members and associated wall panelings forming-self-supporting wall members and novel keying members in the composite stud members including means for securing surfacings thereto.

In addition, the novel improvements of the present invention include provision for the utilization of preformed paneling of various types with or without the use of associated structural 90 hardenable plastic materials bonded and applied to supporting panel members.

It is another feature of this invention to provide improved structural elements, including stud members adapted to receive structural keying members and form composite supporting members therewith. I

Other features of novelty of the present invention include self-supporting building construction units adapted to be associated with other like units and separate members to form composite building supporting members provided with panel-receiving means for securing panelling or surfacings to the walls thereof.

These and other desirable features will be described in the accompanying specification and illustrated in the drawing, certain preferred forms being shown by way of illustration only, for, since the underlying features may be incorporated in other specific structural assemblies, it is not intended to be limited to the ones here shown except as such limitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

In the drawing like numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views, of which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a continuous wall and intersecting or branch wall connection;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the wall joint structure shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the improvements of the present invention will be described 1935, Serial No. 43,017

as comprising a key member 200 of generally tubular shape having a continuous longitudinal slot 20f at one side thereof. The members 200 are provided with diametrically opposed external longitudinal channels 202 coextensive in length with the member 200. The side Walls 203 of the keying member 200 may be flat, as shown, or they may have a plurality of circular or practically circular shapes.

The keying members are adapted to lock end sections of self-supporting units E formed of spaced panel members 1 l0 secured in any desired manner to end sections, designated generally by the numeral 300. The improved end sections 30!] comprise channel members having a'body or base portion 39%, side flanges provided with a double bend 32!! formin parallel side walls 303 which terminate in an inturned edge member 304 sub stantially parallel to the base member 30L The members 39 are adapted to be fitted in and engaged by the channel portions 202 of the keying members. It will be seen that when a pair of abutted grids I00 have gripping flanges 30 T abutted together, that a keying member 200 may be slid in place between the end sections 300 of the grids, the sections 30 1 of the end members being fitted in and locked by the channels 202 of the keys. Due to the accordion pleat formation of the folds or sections 320 of the inturned sides of members 300, a desired spring clip action is assured and the keys and abutted spring clip flanges usually coact to hold each other together in a positive locked relation.

The panel members N0 of the self-supporting grid members I00, may, as indicated above, be secured to or fastened on to the spacing end section or parallel keyways in any suitable manner, as by welding, brazing, soldering or riveting, clipped, bolted, screwed or wired all as indicated generally at 305. The panels H0 may comprise sheet members of a variety of materials such as structural plastic materials including phenolic condensation products of the type known commercially as bakelite, gypsum plastics, concrete sheet members, enameled metal plate members, composition wall board panels, expanded or pressed metal lath or paper-backed wire lath, and sheet metal members of various gauges, depending upon the structural strength desired and the finish to be secured. These materials may also be used in combination with a backing or surfacing of aluminum foil or any other insulating materials such as celotex, mafia grass board, masonite, mineral or glass wool, bakelite impregnated paper or paper-base materials. In addition, where hardenable plastic materials such as lime plasters, gypsum plasters, and the like are to be applied as wall finished, the panel mem-,

bers l may comprise, as noted above, ribbed, plain, expanded or pressed sheet metal.

The combination of the improved keys 200 with the novel spacing supports 390 permits the formation of improved structural members forming composite studs, stanchions, beams, joists or rafters, the several parts of which coact to support each other and to form strong sustaining members. A desirable feature of this construction, and one of marked utility in building, resides in the fact that certain of the structural composite stud members may be incorporated as end sections of self-supporting units for building Walls and the like, which units are adapted to be preformed and can readily be assembled in'place in a building, being permanently secured by the key members 200, which in themselves foirm tubular or substantially tubular structural supporting members. Thus it will be seen that each of the members of the composite stud or joist structure exerts its own supporting function in the composite and that no part of the composite member can be considered or classed as nonsupporting members.

In addition to the novel locking features permitted by the improved clip-flange members 3934, the channels or spaces 3% formed between the folds or pleats 32% may serve as auxiliary keyways for other wall members normally intended to be positioned at right angles to a main wall section. Such a construction is shown more in detail in Fig. 1, where panel member llliia forming an abutting unit of an intersecting side Wall, joining a continuous wall, formed of aligned abutted members 568, is held locked thereto by an auxiliary key 228. This key member has a flat body portion 22! terminating in folded sides 222 bent inwardly to permit engagement of the same with the channels 398 formed in the members 30%! of abutted grid I90. The auxiliary keys 228 are further extended laterally with an outward concave bend 223 adapted to extend around and grip flanges 304 of the angularly positioned and abutted grid member l a.

Thus it will be seen that the members 300 may be secured together by means of keys 280 and angular wall sections may be secured thereto by the use of special key members 225, or intersecting wall keys substantially coextensive in length with the grid members to form three-way connections wherever desired.

It will now be appreciated that there has been provided an improved building construction, including novel composite stud and support members. In addition, there have been provided novel mechanical means for keying and joining wall members together in a mechanically tight joint in a simple and efficient manner, and in which various parts are adapted to be abutted and quickly and permanently secured. The novel'improvements of the present invention also include an improved method for assembling novel structural parts of the present invention.

The various features and combinations of structural parts have been shown herein by way of illustration only, and it is intended to claim all parts as broadly novel, particularly in their new combinations insofar as the state of the art Will allow.

What is claimed is:

1. An auxiliary key member for walls made of abutted self-supporting building units having channel end sections provided with spring-gripping portions engaged by grooved tubular keys, said auxiliary key members comprising a body portion forming a flat base member, inturned sides fitting in said auxiliary keyways, the said sides being extended and outwardly turned over an arc of wide radius and the edges of said member being adapted to engage and grip inner sides of spring clip members'of rectangularly abutted building units.

2. A wall joint construction comprising a main wall section of abutted, self-supporting building units having end locking sections keyed together and providing both main and auxiliary lateral locking sections; side wall units of similar construction abutted against the joints of abutted main wall units; and locking means securing the side wall units to the main wall, said locking means including a sheet metal member having a body section with rolled edges adapted to mate with and be held in locking engagement in the lateral locking sections and outwardly curved sides in looking engagement with the main locking sections of the abutted side-wall building units.

3. A side-wall joint construction comprising a main wall joint formed by abutted, self-support ing building units having end locking sections keyed together longitudinally and providing lateral locking sections, side-wall building units abutted against the lateral locking means and secured thereto, the securing means therefor comprising a sheet-metal locking member having a head section with rolled edges, and curvilinear sides or feet, the edges of which extend beyond the rolled edges of the head section, the said rolled edges being held in locking engagement by the lateral keying members of the main wall units and the curvilinear sides of the keying member being held in locking engagement by the abutted side-wall unit.

4. A side-wall joint construction for self-supporting building units having spaced panel sections spaced and held apart by end channel members having exterior main keying sections and lateral side-wall keying sections, locking means in and between the main keying sections of abutted main wall units and forming composite stud members therewith, similarly arranged units abutted against lateral keyways and locked thereto by locking means comprising a sheet-metal member having a lateral keyway-engaging section formed with spaced rolled edges and terminating in curved sides, the edges of which are spaced away from and extend beyond the said rolled edges, the said curved side edges; engaging main keying sections of side wall units in looking relationship. a V

5; A side-wall joint construction for self-supporting building units having spaced panel sections spaced and held apart by end channel members having exterior main keying sections and lateral side-wall keying sections, locking means in and between the main keying sections of abutted main wall units and forming composite stud members therewith, similarly arranged units abutted on either side of the main wall units and locked thereto by locking means comprising a sheet metal member having a lateral keyway-engaging section formed with spaced rolled edges and terminating in curved-sides, the edges of which are spaced away from and extend beyond the said rolled edges, the said curved side edges engaging main keying sections of side wall units in locking relationship.

r GUY F. KOTRBATY. 

